Calm Morning
The smell of browned butter filled the apartment, warm and nutty. Kai stood at his kitchen counter, laptop open on the side, apron tied loosely over a black T-shirt. On-screen, half a dozen classmates from his culinary program were scattered across video windows, some whisking furiously, some clearly lost.
Kai? He was humming.
He tilted a pan, letting ribbons of golden sauce glide into a ramekin, then sprinkled a precise pinch of herbs over the top. His knife danced across a cutting board, clean and effortless, reducing peppers to perfect dice in seconds.
On the screen, his instructor raised a brow. "Kai… that's a professional cut."
Kai flashed a grin, shades glinting. "What can I say? I'm blessed."
"Cocky," Ava muttered in his ear. "Knife speed recorded at one hundred and ten chops per minute. Excessive for breakfast."
Kai ignored her, plating the dish with a flourish. A light drizzle, a delicate garnish, the kind of thing that belonged in glossy magazines. He slid it toward the camera. "Simple, balanced, and ready before anyone else even preheated their pans."
His classmates groaned. The instructor sighed. "At this rate, Kai, you'll be graduating a year early."
"Perfect," Kai said. "Means I can open my own store sooner."
And he meant it. More than the late-night patrols, more than the memes, more than the whispered name Blindfold in New York's alleys, this dream of a shop — a place filled with warmth and sugar and peace — anchored him. It was proof he wasn't just a weapon. He was a creator.
He was about to cut a bite for himself when Ava's voice shifted. Sharp. Urgent.
"Priority alert. Surveillance confirms Captain Cold, Heat Wave, and Weather Wizard en route to the New York Museum of Science and Innovation. Intent: theft."
Kai froze, fork hovering. "You've got to be kidding me."
"ETA three minutes. Police response time: ten."
Kai groaned, dropping the fork. "Before lunch?"
"Suit up."
The Shift
Kai yanked the apron over his head and tossed it onto the couch. He moved fast, muscle memory carrying him to the wardrobe where the uniform waited — sleek black, stitched tight, humming faintly with Ava's enchantments.
He shrugged into the jacket, tied the blindfold with practiced ease. The hum of magic spread, scrambling optics, shifting his hair to black. The mirror reflected not Kai, not the Honored One, but Blindfold — a faceless shadow grinning at himself.
"Status?" he asked, rolling his shoulders.
Ava's voice was cool. "Coordinates locked. Civilians evacuating. Rogues armed. You're out of time."
Kai cracked his neck. "Guess it's a Blindfold exclusive, then."
Across the City
The storm had already started when Kai vaulted across the first rooftop.
Lightning flickered unnaturally, jagged spears arcing across a sky too blue for thunder. Wind whipped between the buildings, sharp and wild. He pushed with One For All at 5%, feet whispering against tar and stone, Infinity wrapped around him like a second skin.
He flicked his fingers, opening a ripple of Blue ahead. The world folded, and in a blink he was three rooftops farther, landing with a thud. He kept moving, warping again, cutting the city into a blur.
Ava kept pace in his ear. "Captain Cold. Real name: Leonard Snart. Criminal strategist. Armed with a freeze gun capable of absolute-zero blasts."
Kai vaulted a billboard. "So, Mr. Ice."
"Heat Wave. Real name: Mick Rory. Pyromaniac. Carries a flamethrower with experimental fuel mix."
"Mr. Fire."
"Weather Wizard. Real name: Mark Mardon. Possesses a wand channeling weather anomalies. Lightning, storms, tornados."
Kai groaned. "So basically, I'm fighting a Pokémon team."
"Do not underestimate them," Ava said. "Their coordination has held against speedsters."
"Yeah," Kai muttered, warping one last time, "but I'm not a speedster."
The Heist
The museum loomed ahead, glass walls glittering under stormlight. Sirens wailed faintly in the distance, still blocks away.
Kai landed on a ledge overlooking the plaza just as the Rogues made their move.
Captain Cold froze the front steps in a sheet of ice, guards slipping helplessly. Heat Wave roared with laughter, blasting fire through the lobby doors. Weather Wizard raised his wand, summoning rain and thunder to cloak the chaos. Civilians screamed, sprinting away under the storm.
The Rogues strode forward like kings, weapons blazing.
"Smooth entry," Kai muttered. Then, louder, dropping from the ledge into the plaza: "But isn't the museum supposed to preserve history?"
The three turned at once. Cold's eyes narrowed behind his goggles. "Blindfold."
"Wow, I'm famous already," Kai said, rolling his shoulders. "Didn't know I'd rate a full team-up."
Heat Wave barked a laugh. "You're just a rumor in a mask. We eat punks like you."
Weather Wizard twirled his wand, sneering. "Careful, Snart. He's faster than he looks."
Kai tilted his head. "Compliments? You'll make me blush."
Instant Dismantling
Cold fired first, his freeze gun spitting a beam of blue-white ice. It streaked across the air — and snapped sideways as Kai flicked Blue, pulling the blast harmlessly into a marble pillar. Frost crawled up the stone, glittering in the stormlight.
Before Cold could blink, Kai warped. He reappeared behind him, whispering: "Cold shoulders are rude." Then drove a One For All punch into his gut.
Cold folded like paper, dropping unconscious before his gun hit the floor.
"Snart!" Weather Wizard shouted. Lightning cracked from his wand.
Kai flicked another Blue. The wand jerked free of his grip mid-strike and zipped into Kai's waiting hand. "Yoink." He spun it once, then smacked Mardon across the jaw with it. The man collapsed, dazed, out cold before his storm unraveled.
Heat Wave roared, flamethrower hissing. "I'll burn you alive!"
Kai warped again, landing at his flank. Infinity bent the flames aside, heat washing harmlessly past. "You talk too much," Kai said, yanking the flamethrower away with Blue. A flick of Red sent Rory sprawling into a display case. A quick jab to the chin ended it.
Silence fell. The storm thinned. Three Rogues lay sprawled across marble floors, their weapons stacked neatly at Kai's feet.
Ava's voice was utterly flat. "Battle time: forty-seven seconds. Efficiency: excessive."
Kai grinned under the cloth. "Excessive is my brand."
Aftermath
By the time NYPD screeched into the plaza, Blindfold was already gone, the Rogues tied in neat Blue-forged restraints, their weapons disassembled in a pile.
Reporters swarmed as officers dragged the infamous trio out, cameras flashing. Headlines were born before the bodies were loaded into vans.
"Blindfold Neutralizes Central City Rogues in Under a Minute.""Who Is This Blindfolded Hero?""New York Vigilante Crushes Legendary Rogues."
In his apartment, Kai slumped onto the couch, blindfold tossed aside. He poured syrup over a stack of pancakes, hair damp with sweat, grinning tiredly. "Not bad for a morning run."
"Not bad?" Ava said. "You dismantled three international criminals in less time than it takes to preheat an oven. Lex Luthor is already searching your name."
Kai stabbed a bite of pancake. "Luthor can wait. Breakfast first."
LexCorp Tower – Watching
High above Metropolis, Lex Luthor stood before a wall of screens. Footage played on loop: a blindfolded figure warping through space, shrugging off bullets, dismantling the Rogues with insulting ease.
Mercy Graves hovered nearby, tablet in hand. "Confirmed, sir. No meta registry, no prior record. Anonymous digital footprint, though precise. The blindfold scrambles optics — no system can capture his face."
Lex clasped his hands behind his back, eyes gleaming. "A ghost in plain sight. Strong enough to humiliate Snart and his pets. Clever enough to erase his trail. And bold enough to do it publicly."
Mercy tilted her head. "Shall we categorize him as an ally? Or a threat?"
Lex smiled thinly. "Every anomaly is both, Mercy. And every anomaly has a weakness. Find it. Blindfold will either serve me… or be broken."
He turned from the screens, city lights burning below like embers in his gaze.